Of School and Work and Music

"Mom, mom, mom!"  #2 Son ran into the kitchen.  "Guess what!  I have a job interview!  Finally!"

Good for you, i said, knowing he's been applying at a lot of different places.

"Yeah!  The fast food place on the corner called.  It's not the best work in the world, but no one wants to hire you if you haven't had a job before.  I just need a break, so if I get this, in a few months I might be able to get something better!  Now, where is my good suit?"

Hanging up where it belongs, of course, i noted.  What time is the interview?

"This afternoon at 3."

Good, you will still have time to go to school after that.

"Yeah, I know."

"Where is he going?" Bigger Girl asked, coming down from her room.

"Job interview," he answered.

"What if they want you to cut your hair?" she asked.

"I'll tell them I'll shave my head for a job!" he answered.

As he left to find his good suit and put it on, Bigger Girl began to talk about a school assignment.

"Mom, I have an assignment for Music Appreciation class.  I'm supposed to ask three questions about music that I'd like to explore further.  What do you think of these?

"First, Where does noise end and music begin?


"Second, is there any modern music, such as pop or rock or anything, that will have the same kind of lasting effect on culture and music that classical music has had?

"And third, is does it's music say more about what a culture is, or what a culture isn't?"

Those are certainly good questions, i noted.  Your teacher may have gotten more than she bargained for!

"She's up to it," Bigger Girl said.  "After all, any teacher who would come into class, take her shoes off, sit down and start playing her sitar for us, then let the one blind student in the class come up to touch the instrument because he'd never 'seen' one with his hands before, is a good teacher."

Yes, she sounds like it, i said.

"Mom, can you help me get the lint off my collar?"  #2 Son came in, wearing his suit and tie, and handed me the tape that we keep around for just such a purpose.  When you have a lot of cats in the house, you have lint and bits of fur that stick to everything.

After looking him over, his sister asked, "Why the baseball cap?"

"Well, I was going to wear the Fedora, but I have to represent my team, and this has the team logo.  They need to know who I'm pulling for!" he said, then headed out.

Good luck! i called.

Later, as is common around here, a good bit happened at once.  Little Girl had come home from school by then, and Sweetie was just arriving.

"I got it!" #2 Son called out as he came in.  "I go to training on Saturday, and start next week, the morning shift!"

So you can still go to school at night! i said with a smile.

"Yes, that, too!" he said, as Little Girl ran in yelling, "I liberated it!  I liberated it!  Here!"

What did you liberate? i asked, but that was answered as she tossed the mail to me.

"Dad almost had it, but I liberated the mail!" she laughed, and so did Sweetie, who came in after her and heard her saying it.  It's a running gag about who gets the mail.

"And I have a job!' #2 Son was still gloating, as he went to take off his good suit and head to school.




Today is:

Aldus Day -- death anniversary of Aldus Manutius, inventor of italics

Asahikawa Winter Festival -- Asahikawa, Japan (through the 11th)

Bob Marley Day -- Jamaica (birth anniversary)

Berlin International Film Festival -- Berlin, Germany (a premier international film festivall; through the 16th)

Calgary Boat and Sportsmen's Show -- Calgary, AB, Canada (through Sunday)

Festival au Desert -- Segou, Mali (final night of the most remote music festival in the world, the Great Night For Peace, cohosted by the Festival Sur le Niger)

Gamelia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (anniversary celebration of the marriage of Zeus and Hera; date approximate)

International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation -- United Nations

Lame Duck Day -- US, on the anniversary of the passage of the 20th Amendment to the US Constitution; a day to recognize those whose tenure is running out

National Chopsticks Day

Oto Matsuri -- Shingu, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan (fire festival)

Pay-A-Compliment Day

Reggae Day -- Bob Marley birth anniversary

Rubik-Cube Muddling Championships -- Fairy Calendar

Sami National Day -- Finland, Norway, Russian, and Sweden

St. Dorothy of Caesarea's Day (Patron of brewers, brides, florists, gardeners, midwives, newlyweds; Pescia, Italy)

St. Peter Baptist's Day (Patron of Caceres, Philippines; Japan)

Waitangi Day -- Maori, New Zealand and Niue (treaty with Britain, 1840; also considered National Day)


Anniversaries Today:

Accession of Queen Elizabeth II, 1952 (upon the death of her father, George VI)
Massachusetts becomes the 6th US State, 1788
The College of William and Mary in Virginia is founded by royal charter, 1693


Birthdays Today:

Axl Rose, 1962
Barry Miller, 1958
Kathy Najimy, 1957
Robert Townsend, 1957
Natalie Cole, 1950
Bob Marley, 1945
Michael Tucker, 1944
Fabian, 1943
Gayle Hunnicutt, 1943
Gigi Perreau, 1941
Tom Brokaw, 1940
Mike Farrell, 1939
Francois Truffant, 1932
Rip Torn, 1931
Mamie Van Doren, 1931
Zsa Zsa Gabor, 1919
Mary Leakey, 1913
Ronald Reagan, 1911
Babe Ruth, 1895
Aaron Burr, 1756
Nicolaus II Bernoulli, 1695
Chongzhen, Emperor of China, 1611
Christopher Marlowe, 1564


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Masque of Kings"(Play), 1936
"Rhenisch"(Schumann's 3rd Symphony), 1851


Today in History:

The United States signs its first treaty, in which France recognizes the US and promises aid, 1778
New Jersey issues the first US railroad charter to John Stevens, 1815
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore, 1819
The first 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society started a settlement in present-day Liberia, 1820
Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony, 1840
Harper's Weekly publishes the first picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers, 1869
The international arbitration court at The Hague is created when the Netherlands' Senate ratifies an 1899 peace conference decree, 1900
The Young Women's Hebrew Association organizes in NYC, 1902
The "Monopoly" board game goes on sale for the first time, 1935
Turkey holds its first election in which women can vote, 1935
K Elizabeth Ohi becomes the first Japanese-US female lawyer, 1937
Elizabeth II becomes the first Queen regnant of the United Kingdom and several other realms since Queen Victoria, upon the death of her father, George VI, 1952
Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit, 1959
Justice Mary Gaudron is appointed to the High Court of Australia, the first woman to be appointed, 1987
The Round Table Talks start in Poland, thus marking the beginning of overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe, 1989
Russia captures Grozny, Chechnya, forcing the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria government into exile, 2000
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake causes significant damage to villages along the coast of the Solomon Islands, 2013